The Queen of the Tambourine - Softcover

Gardam, Jane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312143982 ISBN 13: 9780312143985

Publisher: Picador, 1996

Synopsis

With prose that is vibrant witty and off-the-wall, The Queen of the Tambourine traces the emotional breakdown--and eventual restoration--of Eliza Peabody, a smart and wildly imaginative woman who has become unbearably isolated in her prosperous home in present-day South London. The letters Eliza writes to her neighbor, a woman whom she hardly knows, reveal the story of her self-propelled descent into madness. Eliza must reach the very bottom of her inner downward spiral before she can once again find health and serenity. The story of a woman's confrontation with the ideas and realities of sanity, The Queen of Tambourine will delight readers who enjoy the works of Anita Brookner, Sybille Bedford, Muriel Spark, and Sylvia Plath.

About this title

About the Author:

Jane Gardam has written six novels and seven collections of short stories. Twice a winner of the Whitbread Award and once a runner-up for the Booker Prize, she lives in East Kent, England.

From Booklist:

Eliza Peabody, a slender woman of 50 with dark, flashing eyes, is married to a terribly aloof dignitary and lives in a very posh section of London where everyone knows everyone else and their dogs, or at least pretends to. Eliza, a bit outre because of her lack of children and abundance of imagination, becomes obsessed with Joan, her enigmatic neighbor. We know this because we're privy to some very patronizing letters Eliza writes to Joan just before Joan ditches husband, children, and, yes, dog, and sets out on an arduous journey to such unvacationy places as Bangladesh. Joan's abrupt departure coincides with the disintegration of Eliza's marriage. Eliza slips into a rather mad frame of mind, which we learn about solely through the hilarious and poignant letters she continues to write and not necessarily send to the ever-elusive Joan. Gardam, recipient of two Whitbread Awards, strikes an unusual balance between wit and sweetness, creating a smart but gentle novel that seems to be from a far less explicit era than our own. Donna Seaman

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0312143982
• ISBN 13: 9780312143985
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 226